Lady Wolves put together winning streak

October 11, 2011

Photo by Keith Reigel – Emily Houser gets a nice bump in the junior varsity match against St. Marys as teammate Taylor Morgan backs her up.

By

Judy Kessler

The Kane Lady Wolves are back on track as they won their last two matches against St. Marys and Punxsutawney.
"The girls have been playing much better these last few weeks and they’re really focused on trying to get to districts," said Kane head varsity volleyball coach Judy Kessler. "Last week we beat St. Marys in three and tonight Punxsy in four. We just keep looking to our next match and focusing on it and not looking too far down the road. Ultimately, we want to be in the district final match, but that’s in our future. Right now, we have teams to beat."
Last week the Wolves defeated St. Marys in a comeback first game 26-24. Down 21-15, Nicole Shrub pushed a ball to the corner for point 16 and the serve. Katelyn Moran served four points (1 ace) as the gap closed to 20-21. St. Marys got two points but a kill by Morgan Nicholson made it 21-23 and a St. Marys mistake 22-23. A passing error gave the Lady Dutch point 24 but a quick attack by Cassie Whittemore gave the Wolves point 23 and the ball. With Shannon Kocjancic serving (1 ace), St. Marys put two attacks out of bounds and the Wolves earned the win.
In game two, the Wolves paced themselves ahead of the Lady Dutch 5-2, 9-6, and 13-7. Audrey Perry (2), Shrubb (1), Whittemore (1), and Nicole Sicher (1) had kills. With a one point lead 19-18, Perry put down a kill then went to serve. She put up two aces and served out the game with five straight points for the win.
Although the Lady Dutch had an 11-8 lead in the third game, the Wolves went to work, putting down seven kills (Perry 5) and and ace by Angie Geer to give themselves a huge 22-13 lead. But the Lady Dutch didn’t quit as they took advantage of a few lapses by the Wolves and scored seven straight to close it to 22-20. A service error by the Dutch and a Perry ace put the Wolves at game point. A kill into the net by the Dutch gave the Wolves the final point of the set and match. Perry finished the game with nine kills, three aces, and two blocks. Moran had 23 assists.
Against the Punxsutawney Lady Chucks, the Wolves kept a steady, methodical pace for the first two sets, winning 25-19 and 25-22. Perry’s five kills and three blocks at the net helped the Wolves stay ahead of the Chucks. Notched at 15-15, Whittemore got a kill and Kocjancic an ace as the Wolves put up four points. But Punxsy answered with four of their own to tie it 19-19 before the Wolves got six straight points to end it. Perry and Nicholson put up a double block, then Geer served up two aces. A Perry tip and a kill by Nerissa Rich put them at game point. On a slight overpass by the Chucks, Perry climbed the ladder in the middle and put the ball through the floor for an unassisted kill to end the game.
In the second set, Punxsy managed to get ahead of the Wolves 9-12 and 12-15 before the Wolves finally took a solid lead 18-16. It wasn’t until the final third of the game that the Wolves managed to run any serious offense. Up to that point, they had only a tip by Perry and kill by Whittemore. Sicher put down kills for points 20 and 22 as the Wolves went ahead 22-18. The Chucks tied it on some strong attacking by Perry put down a kill on the outside for a 23-22 lead. Sicher got her third kill in four points to put the Wolves up 24-22. A Punxsy mistake ended the game.

See full article by purchasing the Oct. 12 edition of The Kane Republican.

Kane Republican

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The Kane Lady Wolves are back on track as they won their last two matches against St. Marys and Punxsutawney.